Anne Ursu, author of The Real Boy, doesn’t write happy books with neatly tied up endings, but she does write beautiful and evocative books. (If this sounds appealing and you haven’t yet read Breadcrumbs, go change that.) The Real Boy takes place on an island where magic is strong. It’s the story of Oscar, an […]
The Gray Wolf Throne
September 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Review written by Jennifer Lewis. The Gray Wolf Throne is the third book in the Seven Realms series (here are the reviews for the first and second books). It begins with Raisa fleeing Micah Bayar and his cronies who had kidnapped her from Oden’s Ford. Raisa makes the perilous journey back to her home with […]
The Ruins of Gorlan
September 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Review written by Jeff Dougan. I’m not sure if there’s a good category description for something that’s a quasi-medieval setting with no magic outside the “Scooby Doo” variety, but The Ranger’s Apprentice series belongs in it. Since the Munchkin was born, I’ve read a higher proportion of middle-grades fiction & young adult material than ever […]
The Exiled Queen
August 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The second book in the Seven Realms series follows both Han and Raisa through their time at Oden’s Ford as they find each other again after having parted ways in Fellsmarch and confront their own unique challenges both with and without the other’s aid.
Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go
July 26, 2013 by 3 Comments
Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go is the story of Milton and his older sister Marlo who die tragically in a huge marshmallow explosion. Although Milton is a good kid and seems poised to go up to Heaven, the influence of Marlo—who is most definitely not a good kid—drags him down to Heck with her. […]
The Sea of Monsters
July 12, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Review written by Jeff Dougan. The Sea of Monsters is the second book in the first pentad of books featuring Percy Jackson. You’ll want to read these in order—I reviewed the first one here, and for purposes of introduction will just note that I like the series a LOT. The second book opens up roughly […]
Perfect Scoundrels
July 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Review written by Jeff Dougan. In Perfect Scoundrels, we open with Kat, Hale, & Gabrielle working a job in Buenos Aires. Kat thought she and Hale were settling into a boyfriend & girlfriend relationship, but when Marcus tells Hale something mid-heist that causes Hale to leave Kat literally dangling in midair, she has to wonder […]
The Lightning Thief
June 24, 2013 by 3 Comments
Review written by Jeff Dougan. The Lightning Thief is the first book in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. In the roughly 15 years since the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, there have been several books or book series that have been called “the next Harry Potter.” Of the ones I’ve […]
The Plundered Parent Protocol
June 10, 2013 by 1 Comment
The Plundered Parent Protocol is a secret agent story for tweens, particularly girls. It’s full of kid power (including extra helpings of girl power) and it really wants to be made into a movie along the lines of Spy Kids—the action is fast paced and you can picture the killer robots made by the eight […]
Here Where the Sunbeams Are Green
June 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Review written by Jocelyn Koehler. In Here Where the Sunbeams Are Green, Madeline’s father Jim Wade is a famous ornithologist who is working at Lava Bird Volcano when he suddenly goes incommunicado. Disturbed by events, Madeline and Ruby (along with their mother) fly down to see if they can bring him back. When they arrive […]
